Startups

Funding focus is a new series analysing cash flow into the European tech ecosystem. Last week, we looked at the largest investment rounds in the Netherlands, and now we’re honing in on Europe’s budding fusion energy sector.  European fusion energy startups raised a record €290mn in the first half of this year as VCs bet big on a technology with the potential to supply virtually limitless clean power. Funding in 2025 has already eclipsed 2024 levels — the previous record year — which saw fusion energy companies raise €185mn, according to Dealroom data. Leading the pack this year was Munich-based…This story continues at The Next Web

The CEO of Sukna Capital outlines their investment strategy, timing, and how this fund aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambitions The post Sukna Capital’s Fares Bardeesi on launching Saudi’s first open-ended direct lending fund for SMEs, startups appeared first on Gulf Business.

UpToDate was born in a sewing room and first lived on floppy disks. Now, one of its earliest employees has some lessons for AI in medicine.

New architectures and manufacturing methods draw investors; 75 startups raise $1.9 billion. The post Startup Funding: Q2 2025 appeared first on Semiconductor Engineering.

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David Cendon Garcia / EU-Startups: Berlin-based CarOnSale, a B2B marketplace for used car trading across Europe offering vehicle inspections and more, raised a €70M Series C led by Northzone  —  German CarOnSale, a digital B2B marketplace for used car trading, has successfully closed a €70 million Series C round …

The Economic Times: Analysis: YC picked just four Indian startups in 2024 vs. 66 in 2021, amid a growing trend of startups shifting their parent entities to India for domestic IPOs  —  Y Combinator's selection of Indian startups has decreased significantly.  This decline is attributed to factors …

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg: Meta has completed a deal to acquire AI voice technology startup PlayAI, and the “entire PlayAI team” is set to join Meta next week, per an internal memo  —  The “entire PlayAI team” is set to join Meta next week, according to an internal memo that was reviewed by Bloomberg.

Allie Garfinkle / Fortune: The exclusivity period on OpenAI's $3B offer to acquire coding startup Windsurf has expired, which means that Windsurf is free to explore other options  —  The exclusivity period on OpenAI's $3 billion offer to acquire coding startup Windsurf has expired, an OpenAI spokesperson told Fortune.

For now, solar gasoline is more science fair than Shell station. But if it ever scales, it could let us have our horsepower and burn it too.

Juro Osawa / The Information: Source: Butterfly Effect, the startup behind Manus, has shut down its entire China-based team to minimize geopolitical risks associated with its ties to China  —  The startup behind Manus, an artificial intelligence agent that went viral earlier this year and got financial backing from Benchmark …

Reuters: Chinese startup Moonshot AI releases Kimi K2, an open-source model that the company says has enhanced coding capabilities and excels at general agent tasks  —  Chinese artificial intelligence startup Moonshot AI released a new open-source AI model on Friday, joining a wave of similar releases …

One Court Africa hosted NBA players at UM6P in Marrakech for a four-day program focused on social entrepreneurship and sustainable business, which included mentoring six African startups and awarding $160K in grants through its Innovation Challenge.

Bloomberg: Sources: Alibaba-backed Chinese AI startup Zhipu plans to raise ~$300M in an IPO in Hong Kong, after previously considering listing in mainland China  —  Chinese AI startup Zhipu is considering shifting its planned initial public offering to Hong Kong instead of mainland China …

"Start meditating," said CEO of Arta Finance, Caesar Sengupta. The startup journey is full of ups and downs, so being able to ground yourself is a "superpower."

Launching a startup two decades after a failed first attempt brought clarity, humility, and a deeper understanding of what it really takes to build a sustainable business.

Kate Clark / Bloomberg: Harmonic, a startup co-founded by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev that aims to build AI better at math than humans, raised a $100M Series B at a $875M valuation  —  Harmonic AI, an artificial intelligence startup co-founded by Robinhood Markets Inc. Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev …

Duncan Riley / SiliconANGLE: Foundation EGI, an “engineering general intelligence” startup that builds custom LLMs for engineering tasks, raised a $23M Series A led by Translink Capital  —  “Engineering general intelligence” platform startup Foundation EGI revealed today that it has raised $23 million …

Varda Space Industries announced on Thursday that they have raised $187 million in funding, led by venture capital firms Natural Capital and Shrug Capital.

Varda Space Industries announced on Thursday that they have raised $187 million in funding, led by venture capital firms Natural Capital and Shrug Capital.

Welcome to Decoder! I’m Alex Heath, Deputy Editor at The Verge and author of the Command Line newsletter. This is the first in a series of Thursday Decoder episodes that I’ll be hosting while Nilay is out on parental leave. I’ve been covering AI a lot at The Verge, and I’m excited to start sharing some of the conversations I regularly have with leaders in the space here. The plan is for each episode to focus on a specific theme, from the rise of deepfakes to how AI is reimagining the browser.  This week, I’m focusing on how AI companies talk about what they’re building. My guest is Ellis Hamburger. He’s the founder of Meaning, a marketing firm that works with a lot of buzzy AI startups. Ellis actually used to work at The Verge shortly after it first launched in 2012, when he covered the early mobile app

Agora, founded by Nick van Eck, aims to boost adoption of its white-label stablecoin platform with $50 million from Paradigm and Dragonfly.

AI therapists could soon be banned for the first time in the US under an Illinois bill, as mental health companies scramble to comply. The Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act forbids AI from ...

Melinda Gates has refused to fund her daughter Phoebe's new startup, stating that real companies require real backing, sparking debate on wealth, privilege, and grit.

The head of the London Stock Exchange warned of a "language of risk" in the U.K. — rather than a "language of opportunity."

OpenAI has finalized its $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive's AI hardware startup io Products, bringing in top former Apple designers to develop a pocket-sized, screen-free AI device that could pose the first real competitive threat to Apple in decades. read more

Melinda French Gates won't fund daughter's fashion-tech venture, believing it must prove itself like any real business. Tough love for women in tech. read more

Perplexity AI launched its Comet web browser after Google Chrome rejected the startup's offer to become a default search engine option. read more

Cerabyte aims to replace magnetic tape with laser-etched glass tablets, offering massive storage density and long lifespan, although performance and feasibility questions remain.

Andreessen Horowitz: a16z moves its state of incorporation to Nevada, saying Delaware's Court of Chancery “can at times appear biased against technology startup founders”  —  It used to be a no-brainer: start a company, incorporate in Delaware.  That is no longer the case due to recent actions …

OpenAI's deal with Jony Ive's startup is a done deal. Ive's io has officially merged with the ChatGPT maker in a deal reportedly worth $6.5 billion. The companies announced the purchase in May. Jony Ive and his LoveFrom design studio remain independent. Meanwhile, io's co-founders, Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan, are now OpenAI employees. (Around 50 other io engineers, designers and researchers are, too.) OpenAI and Ive are currently working on "a family of AI products for everyone." In May, Sam Altman and Ive dropped some hints about what to expect from their first product. They said it will be unobtrusive, portable and fully aware of its surroundings and the user's actions. It reportedly won't be a phone or a pair of glasses, which were likely the first two guesses for most people. For the uninitiated, Ive was a trusted collaborator and confidant of Steve Jobs during the creative explosion that produced some of the most influential tech products ever made. Ive

Hayden Field / The Verge: OpenAI officially closes its ~$6.5B acquisition of Jony Ive's startup, which it refers to as io Products, after a trademark suit from hearing device startup Iyo  —  Sam Altman and Jony Ive's plan to merge ChatGPT's AI tech with new hardware devices is moving forward.

Hayden Field / The Verge: OpenAI officially closes its ~$6.5B acquisition of Jony Ive's startup, which it refers to as io Products, after a trademark suit from hearing device startup Iyo  —  But it was careful to only refer to the startup as io Products Inc.  —  OpenAI originally announced the deal …

No one has to be reminded that we’re living at a dangerous time, and across Europe, leaders are scrambling to find the money to strengthen the bloc’s defenses. The continent’s defense startups are increasingly playing their part. But it sometimes seems as if we’re unwilling to let them. All across Europe, highly innovative companies building […] The post Defense startups across Europe need a blueprint to compete appeared first on SpaceNews.

Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News: ServiceUp, a vehicle repair process automation startup, raised a $55M Series B led by PeakSpan Capital, taking its total funding to nearly $70M  —  ServiceUp, a platform that automates and manages the vehicle repair process, has raised $55 million in a Series B round of funding led by PeakSpan Capital, the company told Crunchbase News.

Venture capitalist Harry Stebbings argues that founders who work 5 days a week won't lead a $10B company. He says 7-day weeks are necessary for AI dominance. Critics called it toxic, but others like Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary and Google's Sergey Brin agree. read more

"When you go to the Valley now, and when you go to China now, they are working seven days a week in the fastest-growing companies," says 20VC founder Harry Stebbings.

New challenges and opportunities spur the launch of several new EDA startups. The post EDA Startups At DAC 2025 appeared first on Semiconductor Engineering.

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) is one of the 11 Hot Penny Stocks to Buy Right Now. On July 2nd, Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) announced partnering with British AI startup UnlikelyAI to test a groundbreaking neuro-symbolic AI technology aimed at improving innovation and customer experience in banking. The Neuro Symbolic AI approach combines neural […]

The venture fund has already invested in Bitcoin-focused exchanges, savings platforms and payment solutions.

Amy Shack Egan started planning weddings at 23. Now, she's raised $550,000 for her wedding coordination startup — with Kerry Washington as lead investor.

It’s not an easy time to raise money for vaccine development, especially shots that rely on mRNA technology. But against all odds, one startup has cinched $45 million to begin testing an experimental universal flu ...

Finnish startup Donut Lab has secured €25mn in seed funding to scale up its in-wheel hub motors for electric land, sea, and air vehicles.  Alongside the investment, Donut Lab is opening an R&D hub in Chippenham, UK. Risto Siilasmaa, serial tech investor and former Nokia chairman, has also joined the company’s board. Marko Lehtimaki, Donut Lab’s CEO and co-founder, said the investment signals a continued demand for the company’s technology. “It demonstrates to us [founders] what we have always believed, that our tech solution is truly groundbreaking,” he said.   Donut’s flagship innovation is a hollow hub motor dubbed, you guessed…This story continues at The Next Web

Jay Bhaumik of Texas Star Pharmacy explores how startups are transforming pharmacies into a tech-driven, patient-centered industry focused on convenience, innovation, and impact.

Investors bullish on AI have been pouring more money into digital health startups. Digital health startups in the US raised $6.4 billion across 245 deals over the first half of this year, according to digital ...

Dominic-Madori Davis / TechCrunch: An analysis of Crunchbase and PitchBook data shows that in 2025 so far at least 36 tech startups hit a $1B+ valuation, including seven in June and six in May  —  With AI igniting an investor frenzy, every month, more startups obtain unicorn status.  —  Using data from Crunchbase and PitchBook …

With US tariffs reshaping global trade, UK startups can gain a competitive edge by restructuring supply chains, optimizing transfer pricing, and strategically separating IP from physical goods.

Groq, which is backed by investment arms of Samsung and Cisco, said the data center will be in Helsinki, Finland.

Groq, which is backed by investment arms of Samsung and Cisco, said the data center will be in Helsinki, Finland.

Meaghan Tobin / New York Times: Hangzhou, home to DeepSeek and Alibaba, has become a hub for Chinese AI startups, with the suburb Liangzhu emerging as a hotspot for coders in their 20s and 30s  —  As China vies with Silicon Valley for primacy, Hangzhou, home to DeepSeek and Alibaba, is where its aspiring tech titans mingle and share ideas.

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Robert Frank / CNBC: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act expands Qualified Small Business Stock benefits for VCs, founders, and startup staff, raising tax-free gains from $10M to $15M  —  The wealthy will likely see a host of new tax breaks in President Donald Trump's “big beautiful bill,” along with permanent extensions …

Marina Temkin / TechCrunch: Cluely says its ARR hit $7M after signing a public company; a startup called Pickle says it built Glass, an open source, free product similar to Cluely  —  Cluely's revenue has skyrocketed to about $7 million in ARR since it launched its new enterprise product a week ago, founder Roy Lee told TechCrunch.

Software engineer Soham Parekh became memed for moonlighting at many startups at once.

Toyota, alongside other car manufacturers, has taken an interest in flying vehicle air taxi companies, with Toyota giving a $250 million to one in 2024. Why?

"We realized he was working multiple jobs ... based on constant large fluctuations in his availability and the quality of his output," a startup founder told CNBC.

Dan Primack / Axios: PitchBook: AI startups received 53% of all global VC dollars invested in H1 2025, rising to 64% in the US, and accounted for 29% of all global startups funded  —  Artificial intelligence is eating venture capital.  Or at least its dollars. … - That percentage jumps to 64% in the U.S.

Hydrogen production from Earth’s own natural reserves is finally grabbing the spotlight, and for good reason. A trio of Japanese…

In October 2024, Hunters International breached IdeaLab.

UK startup claims breakthrough in file compression, but key features are locked behind a paywall, and bold claims lack external verification or benchmarking.

Bloomberg: Daniel Gross is leaving Safe Superintelligence, the AI startup he co-founded with Ilya Sutskever, to join Meta's new superintelligence lab  —  Daniel Gross, the former chief executive officer and co-founder of artificial intelligence startup Safe Superintelligence Inc. …

One name is popping up a lot across tech startup social media right now, and you might’ve heard it: Soham Parekh. On X, people are joking that Parekh is single-handedly holding up all modern digital infrastructure, while others are posting memes about him working in front of a dozen different monitors or filling in for the thousands of people that Microsoft just laid off. From what social media posts suggest, Parekh is actually a software engineer who seems to have interviewed at dozens of tech startups over the years, while also juggling multiple jobs at the same time. Several startups had this revelation on July 2nd, when Suhail Doshi, founder of the AI design tool Playground, posted a PSA on X, saying: PSA: there’s a guy named Soham Parekh (in India) who works at 3-4 startups at the same time. He’s been preying on YC companies and

Ashley Capoot / CNBC: Ilya Sutskever becomes the CEO of Safe Superintelligence, the AI startup he co-founded after leaving OpenAI; Meta reportedly poached previous CEO Daniel Gross  —  OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever said he will assume the CEO role at Safe Superintelligence, the artificial intelligence startup he launched last year.

Bhavya Sukheja / NDTV: Mixpanel founder Suhail Doshi calls out Soham Parekh, who he says “works at 3-4 startups at the same time” and has “been preying on YC companies and more”  —  The AI founder shared Soham Parekh's resume, which shows that the techie has worked at Dynamo AI, Union AI …

Suhail Doshi, founder of Playground AI and analytics platform Mixpanel Inc., publicly accused an Indian software engineer of simultaneously working at multiple startups while allegedly defrauding Y Combinator portfolio companies. read more

British smallsat maker Open Cosmos has acquired Connected, a Portuguese startup developing 5G narrowband connectivity payloads for satellites. The post Open Cosmos buys Portuguese startup to bolster space-based IoT capabilities appeared first on SpaceNews.

AI voice generation platform ElevenLabs reveals plans to be IPO-ready within five years.

AI voice generation platform ElevenLabs reveals plans to be IPO-ready within five years.

North Korean hackers are behind a new and unusually sophisticated macOS malware campaign that targets the crypto industry using fake Zoom invites. Here’s how it works. more…

Bitcoin Magazine Tech Billionaires Launch Erebor Bank to Serve Bitcoin and Crypto Startups Backed by Palmer Luckey, Joe Lonsdale, and Peter Thiel, Erebor aims to become the U.S. bank for digital currencies, AI, defence and manufacturing. This post Tech Billionaires Launch Erebor Bank to Serve Bitcoin and Crypto Startups first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

Microsoft pulls its startups program, replacing it with a new scheme which might not be as favorable for some startups.

Janus Henderson Investors, an investment management company, released its “Janus Henderson Venture Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. The fund returned -8.61% in the first quarter, compared to the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s -11.12% return. Stock selection in the consumer discretionary sector contributed to the fund’s relative performance in the quarter, while selection in healthcare […]

UK startup founders are increasingly choosing partial exits over full departures, new data from Charles Stanley suggests. The post UK Startup Exits Evolving as Founders Opt to Stay Involved appeared first on The Fintech Times.

We have seen our fair share of healthcare trends over the years, from probiotic drinks and superfood snacks to fitness and wellness events. Alongside these fads, a wave of healthtech startups has also emerged, leveraging modern solutions to address individual health needs.  Among them is O2genes, a homegrown business that specialises in wellness technology solutions offering Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), a medical treatment where patients breathe higher concentrations of oxygen in a pressurised chamber. "The ideal conditions to reset, repair and thrive" One of the key products that O2genes offers is the Hyperbaric Oxygen Cocoons (pictured below), designed for you to sit or lie down comfortably while enjoying the benefits of HBOT. O2genes’ Hard Shell Hyperbaric Oxygen Cocoon designed for seated sessions./ Image Credit: O2genes

Damascus, SANA-The Ministry of Communications and Technology held a discussion session on Tuesday with representatives of entrepreneurial startups across Syria. The event aimed to bring together companies from various regions in a direct dialogue with government decision-makers to help shape national policies and programs through a genuinely participatory approach. The session took place at the …

Financial Times: Sources: Sweden-based AI-powered app builder Lovable is set to raise $150M+ led by Accel at a ~$1.8B valuation, as investors rush to back “vibe coding” startups  —  Two-year-old group nears more than $150mn in new funding as investors swarm around AI coding businesses

Despite a cautious VC climate and ongoing geopolitical jitters, European startups are still attracting serious cash.  Covering everything from AI drug discovery and space launches to quantum software and fusion energy, the continent’s startups raised €19bn in the first half of 2025, according to Dealroom data.  We’ve crunched the numbers so you don’t have to. Here are the 20 largest startup funding rounds for H1 2025. (Note: This list includes only startups founded in 2015 and later.)  1. Helsing — €600M HQ: Munich, Germany Helsing builds AI-powered software for defence systems, designed to help democratic governments respond to modern security threats.…This story continues at The Next Web

Allie Garfinkle / Fortune: Ambrook, a startup providing specialized accounting software for US farmers and ranchers, raised a $26.1M Series A led by Thrive Capital and Figma's Dylan Field  —  Ambrook cofounders Dan Schlosser, Mackenzie Burnett, and Jeff Anders.  —  AMBROOK  —  When I meet Chase Crandall, he's putting up a barbed wire fence.

Tabby Kinder / Financial Times: Sources: Palmer Luckey is preparing to launch Erebor, a US bank backed by Joe Lonsdale and other tech investors to serve startups, including crypto businesses  —  Start-up named after the dragon's mountain in ‘Lord of the Rings’  —  A group of tech billionaires led by Palmer Luckey …

Up to $150 K tier shelved, perks folded into two-track system Microsoft has retired its program that granted incorporated AI startups with a validated business plan up to $150,000 in Azure credits and replaced it with a two-track system.…

Mira Murati, the former chief technology officer at OpenAI, launched her secretive startup in February — and is paying top dollar for technical talent, according to new filings.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The AgTech Innovation Showcase returns this summer, offering farmers a unique opportunity to connect with startups, explore new technologies and share real-world insights to shape future on-farm solutions. The event is a collaboration between BioSTL, Illinois Farm Bureau and University of Illinois Research Park. The AgTech Innovation Showcase, held July 16 from […] The post Ag Innovators to Bring Emerging Technologies to Farmers During Startup Showcase appeared first on Morning Ag Clips.

From treating cloud storage as backup to neglecting encryption, these common blunders have shut down 51% of businesses within two years after data loss.

These top-ranked cleaning franchises combine steady demand, low startup costs and recurring revenue to offer some of the most accessible business opportunities today.

Krystal Hu / Reuters: Grammarly acquires email startup Superhuman as part of a push to build an AI-powered productivity suite; Superhuman was last valued at $825M in 2021  —  Grammarly has acquired email efficiency tool Superhuman as part of the company's push to build an artificial intelligence-powered productivity suite …

Palantir Technologies Inc. is positioning itself as the next Amazon Web Services, according to a senior executive. read more

Four North Koreans posed as remote developers at US and Serbian blockchain firms, stealing nearly $1 million in crypto to fund the regime’s illicit programs.

The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) has made its first investment in a biotechnology startup. The alliance’s VC arm announced today that it’s co-leading a $35mn Series A round for UK-based Portal Biotech as it seeks to strengthen NATO’s defences against biological warfare. Portal develops portable, AI-powered diagnostic devices capable of detecting pathogens at the single-molecule level. Unlike traditional lab-based systems, its platform is designed for field deployment. It aims to offer rapid, on-site identification of biological threats.  Ana Bernardo-Gancedo, senior associate at NATO Innovation Fund, told Reuters that this capability is crucial for defence and security. “We believe it is…This story continues at

Someday, my prince will come Google has agreed to purchase 200 megawatts of fusion energy from Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS). That's assuming, of course, the Massachusetts-based startup can actually get the miniaturized sun to make more power than it consumes, something even the Chocolate Factory admits is a bit of a "moonshot."…

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg: X hires Nikita Bier, the serial entrepreneur who was behind polling startup TBH and teen-focused social network Gas, as its new head of product  —  Elon Musk's X has hired entrepreneur Nikita Bier as the platform's new head of product, giving Bier a senior role atop one of the most widely used social apps in the world.

Gené Teare / Crunchbase News: A look at the rise of $5B+ unicorns, which make up 13% of ~1,600 unicorns but hold $3.5T of $6T total valuation; 17 startups joined the $5B+ club in H1 2025  —  Editor's note: This article is part of a series looking at how the venture and startup landscape has evolved over the past 10 years.

Circulate Health, a startup offering a potential anti-aging procedure, has raised $12 million in seed funding led by Khosla Ventures, the companies told Endpoints News in exclusive interviews. The startup’s procedure, called therapeutic plasma exchange ...

Benicia Tan / Bloomberg: PitchBook: Australian startups raised $3.4B in 2024, down from 2021's $6.5B peak; 39% of early-stage capital in Australia came from overseas vs. 21% in the US  —  Australian startups lag far behind the US and China in funding raised despite the country's historical effectiveness at creating unicorns.

Yuliya Chernova / Wall Street Journal: Sources: Menlo Ventures targets ~$1.5B for new funds to invest in AI ventures, including $650M for early-stage startups, and $850M for later-stage companies  —  The investor in Anthropic and other artificial-intelligence companies is raising about $1.5 billion for new venture funds